ncaa-footballDecember 2, 2017 10:13am ESTDecember 2, 2017 10:10am ESTThe College Football Playoff field is far from being locked into place. Here are some scenarios that could play out before the final rankings are released.

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The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings may have revealed a little about how the CFP committee intends to set its final playoff field.

As expected, Alabama took a tumble after its loss at Auburn to No. 5. Meanwhile, Clemson moved into the No. 1 spot, while Auburn, Oklahoma and Wisconsin rounded out the top four. Georgia came in at No. 6, Miami fell to No. 7 following its loss to Pitt, and Ohio State checked in at No. 8.

All of the rankings, however, can be undone, depending on how championship weekend plays out. The Big Ten and Big 12 championship games in particular could have a massive impact on the final playoff field.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at all the ways the playoff race could play out in its final week:

1Nothing changes

Chance it happens: The only top-four team not favored in its conference championship game is Wisconsin, but the Badgers boast the nation’s top rush defense. If they can stymie J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber while keeping J.T. Barrett off balance, they could polish off a 13-win season. That, of course, would keep Ohio State and Alabama out of the discussion.

2Alabama gets in

Chance it happens: If Wisconsin loses, the only decision the committee would have is whether to place No. 5 Alabama or No. 8 Ohio State in the final poll. The Crimson Tide would seem to be in the more favorable position, given the Buckeyes' two losses (including a 55-24 loss to 7-5 Iowa). There's precedent as well: The Buckeyes made the playoff last year after failing to win their division.

3Ohio State gets in

Chance it happens: This scenario depends entirely on how badly Ohio State beats Wisconsin — if it beats Wisconsin. If the Buckeyes drop another 59-0 hammer on the Badgers, the committee could be impressed enough to overlook that bad loss to Iowa on Nov. 11 and have eighth-ranked OSU leapfrog Alabama. It wouldn’t hurt if Georgia beats Auburn in the SEC championship.

4Bama, Buckeyes get in

1. SEC champion2. Miami (12-1)3. Alabama (11-1)4. Ohio State (11-2)

How we get there: Ohio State beats Wisconsin, Miami beats Clemson and TCU beats Oklahoma.

Chance it happens: The only way this happens, given Ohio State's No. 8 ranking, is if Ohio State destroys Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship, TCU beats a terrific Oklahoma team and Miami stuns Clemson in the ACC. The likelihood of all three happening is ... not high. But if those conditions are met, the committee would be free to place Miami in the top two, allowing Alabama to take the No. 3 spot and Ohio State to sneak in at No. 4. Everybody’s happy, and by everybody we mean the committee, Alabama and Ohio State.

5TCU leapfrogs in

1. ACC champion2. SEC champion3. Alabama (11-1)4. TCU (11-2)

How we get there: TCU beats Oklahoma and Ohio State beats Wisconsin

Chance it happens: It's not impossible, but it would take a lot. Simply beating Oklahoma wouldn’t be enough for TCU to jump into the mix; the Horned Frogs would need to stymie Baker Mayfield and beat Oklahoma like no team has done all season. That just doesn’t look like it will happen. But if it did ... would the committee allow TCU into the top four from the No. 11 spot? The Horned Frogs would also have to jump Alabama or Ohio State in this scenario.

6All hail the ACC?

1. Miami (12-1)2. SEC champion3. Alabama (11-1)4. Clemson (11-2)

How we get there: Miami beats Clemson, TCU beats Oklahoma and Ohio State beats Wisconsin

Chance it happens: Not likely. Even if Clemson loses a heart-stopper in the ACC championship game, it’ll be nearly impossible to persuade the committee to allow the Tigers to remain in the top four with two losses and no conference championship. This also assumes the committee keeps out No. 11 TCU and No. 8 Ohio State, despite them winning their respective conferences. It's just not feasible.

7Chaos!

Chance it happens: What a terrific mess this would be. Still, it would take an unheard-of amount of chaos for it to happen. Assuming Miami beats Clemson, Georgia beats Auburn, TCU beats Oklahoma and Ohio State beats Wisconsin, the most likely scenario would be for Georgia, Miami and Alabama to take the top three spots, respectively. That would then leave a decision for the committee: Would No. 8 Ohio State get in over No. 11 TCU by virtue of its higher ranking? Or would TCU get in because it beat the higher-ranked team in No. 2 Oklahoma? Like we said, chaos.

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